Does/can your practice run without you?

How did you make your practice run without you?

Didn't find your answer?

Within a year, I am looking to turn my practice to run without me or with minimal involvement from me. 

Have you done this? If so how do you manage to achieve this?

Thanks

Replies (21)

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By mrme89
15th Nov 2016 08:05

If your staff are doing the majority of the day to day work, as well as practice management and marketing, they will soon realise they don’t need you.

It can work for bigger practices, but not small practices with just a couple of members of staff.

There’s also quality concern. If you have little or no involvement, who will be checking the quality of work that leaves the door? It is your ACCA PC on the line!

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Replying to mrme89:
By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
15th Nov 2016 09:24

mrme89 wrote:

There’s also quality concern. If you have little or no involvement, who will be checking the quality of work that leaves the door? It is your ACCA PC on the line!

I had to giggle at that.

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Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
15th Nov 2016 08:08

Then you will need to pay a sufficiently experienced manager to run it for you and hope that they are good at their job.

When he or she leaves then a suspiciously high number of clients may decide to do their own accounts and the practice will be rudderless whilst it finds a new leader.

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Red Kite
By Red Kite
15th Nov 2016 08:30

Much depends on what you intend to do with your time?

If it's just that; you've built up your practice and, you're simply wanting time off, I think it's only fair, to both your client's and staff, to sell it.

The goodwill in a sole practitioner arrangement is you. The client's weren't attracted by anyone else, simply you!

If you feel that you no longer have the dedication and commitment then, do the honourable thing and, sell up.

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Replying to Red Kite:
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By Mr_awol
15th Nov 2016 10:04

Or at least bring your manager in as some sort of progression and reduce your profit share to reflect the fact that hes running the show.

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Man of Kent
By Kent accountant
15th Nov 2016 10:26

You could employ me.

Then in 12 months I'll leave and take all (the decent) clients with me... :o)

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By petersaxton
15th Nov 2016 10:31

It depends on attitude.
If you care about your clients you would not try to do that or, given it's a very small practice, you would need to employ a manager to do your work and most likely pay them a significant part of your income.
If you try to walk away and not employ a manager you are effectively trashing your business.
Your choices are:
Stop playing an effective role and accept a reduced income, and
Continue working in your business and have a reasonable income.
Why should anybody want to walk away from their business after seven or eight years unless they have enough money to retire or have some serious alternative source of income?

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
15th Nov 2016 10:48

Sell it?

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Replying to Paul Scholes:
By petersaxton
15th Nov 2016 10:53

Paul
I thought you had escaped!

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Replying to Paul Scholes:
Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
15th Nov 2016 11:06

Paul Scholes wrote:

Sell it?

But I think FT wants to have his cake and eat it - a decent income for life and no client responsibilities.

P.S. Nice to see you back Paul.

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Worm
By TheLambtonWorm
15th Nov 2016 11:10

I doubt there'll be many people here (if any) who have done what you're asking.

What you suggest just means that you'll have to pay someone else to do your job. If that's the case - what will you do instead?

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Replying to TheLambtonWorm:
By mrme89
15th Nov 2016 11:12

TheLambtonWorm wrote:

If that's the case - what will you do instead?

Get a job in marketing.

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
15th Nov 2016 12:12

Not an Accountant, a different business, but a real former client story of what may happen.

Client has two business entities- a smaller one (limited)managed by minority shareholder and a larger (sole trader) he manages himself.

Client decides to spend time abroad each year and promotes member of staff in large business to manage in his absence. (mistake was probably should have brought in fellow director from other business, instead)

Business involves people and relationships with customers very important- repeat business year after year.

Manager gets pay hike, good car, pension scheme etc. Every year owner returns for a few weeks and manager pushes for even bigger pay hike, this carries on for 4-5 years at which point the demands get too large, they are refused, manager storms out, opens in opposition elsewhere in city, restrictive covenant in contract cannot bite re location, the customers will and do travel, over 50% of turnover disappears like snow of a dike.

A business that could have been sold the year before for circa £1.5 million (offer from large operator had been rebuffed) dropped in value to sub £0.5 million, mainly on the back of trying to have one's cake and eat it.

The above, whilst occurring in the late 1990s, I still think reflects the reality when dealing with a business founded on relationships.

When I left full time practice in the late 1990s a number of clients I had managed in my previous firm approached me to see if I ,rather than my former employer,would act for them - I declined as had left practice but the loyalty was to me the individual not to the firm, despite some having been clients of the firm for well in excess of 10 years and I had likely only had them on my client list for 4-5 years; one of the reasons why a partner needs to see the biggest clients at least once or twice a year.

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
15th Nov 2016 14:13

A risky strategy I would think FT.

If you are planning on paying a manager to run business fully and you simply take all the profits. He will quickly realise that he is doing all the work for £50k salary and you are getting £100k for nothing. The penny at some point will drop that he go it alone and potentially make £150k with your clients he has been looking after.

I think you still need to retain some client facing role time in the office, and I would be wary about allowing your manager becoming you sole point of contact for clients.
If you have a manager bring him in on a salary plus profit share to make him less likely to jump ship.

One of the fee banks I looked at to buy did a similar thing to you suggest he outsourced all the work, passed the payroll out to a bureau where he only made 10% margin on it. He reduced his hours down to seeing only the clients that wanted a meeting so was maybe only doing 15 hours per week with support from part time staff.

The down side was that all the money was going out to outsourcers and subbies and not much left for the principal.

you get what you put in basically.

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By dbowleracca
15th Nov 2016 22:25

I think this could work but only as the first respondent said, in a large practice.

You would need to have at least 20-30 good quality staff, with the management team paid well and given a profit share, and happy to be employees and not owners - with you still keeping tabs on what was going on at least monthly, ideally weekly.

You would also want to have some sort of succession plan in place to give the management team the opportunity to buy the firm, or to sell it to a larger firm within 5 - 10 years I think, to capitalise on the value.

From what I have read previously, I don't think you're close to being there yet. You should probably consider the advice of others and look to sell if your plan is to step away from the day to day - but integrate the new fee bank you have purchased first and put in place systems and processes to make it easier for a potential purchaser to take the practice on.

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Replying to dbowleracca:
By mrme89
16th Nov 2016 07:24

Succession planning is a very good point.
Unfortunately, FT was offended when one of his staff expressed an interest to buy the practice one day.

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FT
By FirstTab
15th Nov 2016 23:21

Thanks for the response. I will think. Over a period of time, I will address this aspect in my blogs.

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Replying to FirstTab:
By JCresswellTax
16th Nov 2016 10:34

What I don't understand is why you have asked this question, when you have just stated in another thread that you have just bought a bank of fees?

The two do not tie in!

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By miketombs
18th Nov 2016 11:59

We have virtually every process written out in a formalised systems manual whether it's something as simple as a checklist for clients changing their address (believe it or not, that can require changing in up to eleven places!) or taking on a new client with all the anti-money laundering, letter of engagement, direct debit set up etc steps required. Because of our systemised approach I was able to take a 5 weeks holiday over September/October and come back to a virtually-empty inbox:-)

We are planning to make the procedures manual and some associated online training material available to other accounting practices early in the new year (for a modest monthly fee!) so that may be one way to help you escape from the day to day routine of keeping everything running.

PM me and I'll contact you when we are ready to launch it - we are just going through the process of making everything more generic so there aren't our logos on the forms, draft letters etc.

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Good looking older guy with the biggest smile.  The 15 Minute Guy
By Ashley Leeds
18th Nov 2016 12:00

Interesting concept and if you follow this link http://www.remarkablepractice.com/living-proof/ you will see how Simon Chaplin does exactly what you are asking!! Not sure how large your practice is, but it is great to have aspirations. As long as your clients still get the great service eh?

The other thing that you need is a great systemised approach, so a quality process and possibly robust and automated software. Does your software provider tick all these boxes?

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7om
By Tom 7000
18th Nov 2016 12:37

Give it to me Ill run it for you and give you half the profits and not take a single client. Got plenty already. So sort of like selling but getting a dribble over the next few years instead of a lump..

Failing that whats your son doing, time to step into dads shoes?

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